


Crossing a Black Cat

by Miscellaneous_Ace



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: And i know that's a hard vibe to try and achieve but i feel like a challenge lmao, Decent Father Gabriel Agreste, F/M, Generally speaking... antihero-Gabriel Agreste, Mentoring Gabriel, Some contradicting vibes from Gabriel, Some miraculous swapping scenanigans, miraculous swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2020-07-30 05:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20091928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miscellaneous_Ace/pseuds/Miscellaneous_Ace
Summary: Gabriel Agreste may be a great many things. An overdramatic, pompous, pretentious, and the fashion icon of our time? Absolutely, where’s the rainbow cravat? He will wear those colours with pride.A coward?Now you’re asking for a fight.So the real question is... would he use the Butterfly Miraculous to fight literal children, with other children mind you, from a secret lair under his house to try and steal their miraculous jewels, like a coward?Of course not, how dare you even imply such a thing. Gabriel Agreste is no coward.(So… maybe he would fight the children himself? If given the chance? ...That’s a bit better isn’t it?)Now, what if... say... he came into possession of the Cat Mirculous, and by some miracle got the God of Destruction on his side?And, oh I don't know, he wasn't actually terrible in every way shape and form?Hard to believe, I know.





	1. Pancake Day

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Delicate Wings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8848330) by [imthepunchlord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthepunchlord/pseuds/imthepunchlord). 

> So I just wanted to make a problematic fic I guess. :/
> 
> I’m diverging from canon a lot, and from the inspiration material as well cause why the hell not? Mostly I just went crazy with this concept and born was this… mess. 
> 
> I am going to use a fair few of @imthepunchlord 's concepts because I LOVE them! I’ll try to take my own spin, but certainly there’ll be overlap. 
> 
> I am definitely leaving canon in the dust. Between Emilie’s situation, Gabriel's motivation and actions, and generally the miraculous setup... yeah.   
So I'm giving everything some general reasoning and trying to make a Gabriel that I can get behind, personally.

The question remains, would Gabriel Agreste fight children indirectly through other children who have no choice in the matter? Like a coward? 

Of course not, how dare you even imply such a thing.

Would he instead… perhaps… use the evil transformative phrase of a miraculous to catch the Guardian’s attention? Would he then… do nothing? 

You are completely correct.

At the very least, that had been the plan. He had wanted to simply gain the Guardian’s attention, have a civilized conversation to discuss Emilie’s condition and potentially rectify the situation. 

Now, he sat in his son’s room, panicked. He had entered not five minutes before with the intention to cook breakfast with Adrien, only to find his son gone.

“The Guardian kidnapped my son,” He whispered in horror, his hand tugging his hair in distress.

_ Do you really believe him capable of such a feat? _ Came Emilie’s reasonable argument, or at least what she would’ve said right about now, but she was in a coma and had no means to tell him such. Perhaps he was going insane?

“Of course he did! What other explanation is there?!” He screeched, like the peacock he was, “He’s stolen my son because he was so offended! He’ll probably vacate the country now and I’ll never see my son again, and Emilie will never be healed, and everything’s gone to shit!”

“Gabriel,” Came a soft voice, trying to cut through his panicking delusions, “Would you please breathe, and look in front of you?”

Gabriel frowned at the familiar floating butterfly-themed being of magic and looked towards a familiar box. He shrieked in alarm and flung himself over the couch, in much the same way he had done when first meeting Duusu all those years ago.

_ Some things never change, _ came Duusu’s chastising, but he could imagine the smug smile on his face, _ I thought I had trained you better, Chick _.

He stood slowly, adjusting his clothes to feign a dignified response, before stepping forward to inspect the little box. It was just as he had been, all those years ago. 

“So,” Nooroo whispered, concern lacing his voice, “What does this mean, do you think?”

“The guardian has stolen my son in exchange for the ladybug miraculous,” Gabriel provided, and though his voice masked his growing worry, Nooroo was well attuned to the emotions of his wielders, even when they weren’t his **intended** wielders.

“That’s not good…”

“No,” Gabriel agreed, “It’s not. So, what I can figure is that the Guardian has stolen my son to be sure that the ladybug miraculous is returned to him when the deed is done. It’s a low-risk deal he’s made, to be sure the miraculous is returned. “

“That makes sense,” Nooroo agreed, “So, why are you so bothered by this?”

Gabriel tensed, turning to look at the box to distract himself, “Well, what if he doesn’t return my son? He’s so old and paranoid, maybe he’ll just keep my son forever-” A broken sob cut him off as a new horror struck him, “What if he trains my son to be the next guardian?!”

“Whoa, what?” Nooroo asked in alarm.

“He’s been Guardian for forever, as far as I can tell. He was Guardian for Vixen who was an old woman by the time we defeated her. He’s got to be ancient! He’ll need a replacement soon, and who better than two miraculous user’s son, who has a thirst for knowledge?!”

“I think you’re overreacting Gabriel,” Nooroo interjected, “Let’s heal Emilie and then see what happens. If the Guardian won’t return him, then you have plenty of punch behind you. Three miraculous to be precise.” He smiled brightly, flying around Gabriel to create a small breeze around the tall man in an effort to bring comfort.

It only mildly irritated Gabriel, so the designer exits the room intent on his destination, the Dining Hall. As he leaves he passes a maid, and requests she clean Adrien’s room, then on the stairs he noted the doors to his home opening, so standing tall he watched as George, Nathalie and-

“Adrien?!” He nearly yelled, startling the three, who stood to attention immediately. 

Gabriel, in response, began to step down the stairs to greet them, trying to play off his yell.

He stopped a few paces in front of them, and looked to Nathalie, she'd never lied to him before so he had no reason to mistrust her information. 

“Where did you find him?” Gabriel asked, though his voice to wavered only a fraction against his preference.

Adrien caught it and his jaw dropped, as Gabriel and Nooroo felt a wave of guilt radiate off of the boy.

“Outside College Francois-Dupont,” She replied, her tone stoic and cold. 

Gabriel sighed in annoyance, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

_ Happy you panicked for nothing? _ Duusu’s voice rang in his head, Gabriel sighed because he _was_ actually. Very glad, in fact, that his son was kidnapped, but rather just stepping into his teenage rebellion. A rebellion that was but a fraction of Gabriel’s own, seeing as he had become the Peacock Hero, Paon Bleu, and a designer despite his family’s protest, though they didn't know about the hero thing.

“Adrien,” He started, interrupted by the teen in question.

“I just want to go to school!” He exclaimed, “Everyone my age goes! Even Chloe! I just want to be like a normal kid!”

“You’re not a normal kid,” Gabriel snapped before he could help himself. The son of two miraculous wielders, how could Adrien ever expect to be normal? Gabriel supposed he was unaware of this abnormality, maybe that’s why he thought he stood a chance in this argument.

“I know,” Adrien replied, “I know, I’m an Agreste, a model. I know I can’t be like a normal kid, not with how recognisable I am, but I want a semblance of normalcy at least!”

Gabriel rubbed at his eyes, trying to soothe his growing headache, “I’ve told you, Adrien, I cannot in good conscious send you into that… that cesspool of danger.”

Adrien stepped forward then, out of Nathalie and George’s grasp, “Mum said I could go!” He snapped, “She promised! She said this year I could go because things were going to be different! Sh-She promised!”

Only because she knew they would defeat the corrupted miraculous wielding villain they had been fighting since Adrien’s third birthday. She knew that there was no point keeping Adrien cooped up, confined but safe when there was no danger. Gabriel had agreed with this sentiment, originally, but now he couldn’t do it. Not when he was defying the Guardian.

Gabriel, in a small act of procrastination, noted Adrien’s height. Given two years, and a strong calorie and dairy intake and his son would surely surpass him. He had certainly surpassed his mother in her absence, and Gabriel knew that he was next. 

“I know,” He said finally, his cover glare lessening in its intensity, “I know what she promised, but I made no such promise. And why should I? You decided to sneak out, to disobey my wishes, on **Pancake Day.** Give me one reason why I should appease this childish request?”

Adrien’s eyes widened and his mouth hung open in surprise before his eyes began to well up with unshed tears, “It’s... Pancake Day?” He asked, his voice cracking with emotion.

“It was,” Gabriel replied sharply, before turning around, “Now it’s time for your piano lesson.”

He stalked away, towards the dining hall. Adrien just watched his father go, his tears falling now. He was between heartbroken and hopeful. His father was going to bring back her favourite tradition.

_ I just had to piss him off, didn’t I? _ He thought angrily.

The boy took a sharp breath and turned to go to the practice room, unaware of his father’s panic at his absence, nor did he know about the absence of a specific object of intrigue. 

Gabriel, meanwhile, went to the dining hall (as Emilie always referred to it, it was too large to be a dining room in her opinion), and stood contemplative in front of his wife’s image. 

Nathalie walked in to inform him of his schedule, and he nodded waiting to be alone. Eventually she left, and Gabriel reached out to the painting, touching the frame in a slow tracing motion, careful and precise before the floor began to lower beneath him.

He eventually was lowered into a long tunnel, which he traversed with hot anger fuelling him. He absently wondered why Emilie never complained about how long the tunnel to her butterfly rooms was, but he supposed he did specifically build this network for her and she was always too nice to complain. 

Eventually, Gabriel reached two doors.

The left was Emilie’s butterfly room, with a huge garden, it didn’t house the magic butterflies produced to use the butterfly’s power (Champion), but it held the huge array of butterflies that were naturally -abnormally- attracted to Emilie, and now kind of to Gabriel, as he was the wielder of the butterfly miraculous.

The right door was Emilie’s transformation room, which she had requested be separate from her butterfly room as she didn't like bothering them with her energy and commentary around her champions. 

Gabriel entered the right room, not wanting to disturb the butterflies within the butterfly room or Emilie’s spirit, not until he’d gotten a confirmation from the Ladybug Kwami at her helping him. 

Entering the room, he sat down in a lanky heap on the ground next to the door and got the box out. Nooroo peared over his shoulder curiously, his nervous nature not letting him approach any closer. Gabriel snapped the box open, revealing a black ring for half a second before the flash happened. 

Gabriel stared in surprise, his jaw-dropping as his brain replayed what he just saw. A ring? Why did the Guardian leave him a ring?

The bright ball of black and green magic flashed finally, and in its place was a black cat Kwami yawning. He peaked one green eye open to review the man before him. He frowned curiously, “You’re not Adrien.”

Gabriel shrieked. It wasn’t his finest moment, he’ll admit that, but Peacocks shrieked, and he was a Peacock. Maybe he had butterfly wings at the moment, but he was always going to be a Peacock.

To be perfectly honest, he didn’t feel too bad about his shriek. He felt bad about launching the box, and miraculous within, across the room in horror. 

“You were meant for **Adrien** ?” He screamed at the unsuspecting kwami, scrambling up to start pacing as he re-sorted the scenario until clarity and fury filled him, “The Guardian wasn’t going to appease me! He was going to defeat me! He was going to leave her to wither away! That **bastard** ! I didn’t even do anything, and he sent out the **Ladybug and Black Cat** miraculous! He wanted to tear me to sunder! Using children!” He gasped and whirled on the offending cat, who was watching amused and wary, “He was going to set my own **son** against me!”

The cat snorted, and frowned up at Gabriel, “What is a dramatic Peacock like you doing with the butterfly miraculous?” He asked, his voice coated in amusement.

Gabriel stared at the Kwami a moment, before scooping up the miraculous which didn’t fall _too_ far away, and turning to the door, “I’ll show you,” He hissed. 

He went into the opposite door, nearly letting a swarm of butterflies free, but quickly he swiped them away, sending them scattering away from the entrance. He could vaguely feel how annoyed they were with his rudeness, he purposefully ignored it.

Closing the door behind him and the two Kwami in his company, Gabriel led them to the glass medical chamber. It kept everything out that could harm Emilie, like diseases and the like, while medically feeding her. She lay breathing softly, in a coma.

Plagg blinked in surprise and looked to Gabriel for an explanation. The wound-up Peacock easy supplied it.

“This is my wife,” He began, “The true wielder of the butterfly miraculous. She and I were on a mission against a miraculous misuser, Vixen. He was using the fox miraculous to better his political stature in Iraq and, well, kill his competition with _ Mort _.”

Plagg flinched, nodding with a slow understanding.

Gabriel continued, “We were hunting him for ten years, and finally. _ Finally _. We caught him.”

Plagg nodded, and Nooroo looked away.

“She wanted to be there, to see us get him. She was always rushing into danger, and though it had simmered down over the years I wasn’t surprised she wanted to be there. To see him fall. He… he was going to hit me with _Mort_,” Gabriel’s eyes began to water, the events still fresh in his mind even now, “But she dove in front of me. I… I just kept throwing them. I couldn’t stop. Not even after he was nothing but a pile of holes and flesh. Then I went to her, and she wasn’t breathing, I’d wasted so much time. So much precious time! I called on _Revivify_, and she was breathing again but-” His voice cracked as a sob racked through him, “But she wouldn’t wake up.”

Plagg floated quietly around, his eyes trained on Gabriel. Nooroo had never seen him so silent before. If Nooroo couldn’t sense emotions, he’d have never known the growing wrath Plagg felt on the weeping Peacock’s behalf.

“She’s not changed in months,” Gabriel whispered, “And Adrien is growing suspicious of her status as ‘missing’ and I don’t know what to do. I… I was desperate. I needed to catch the Guardian’s attention, so I could find him, strike a deal, beg for the Kwami of Creation to finish healing her and then I was going to drop out of the miraculous world. I had no need for it anymore, and maybe one day my son would get a miraculous and I could help him through it, and so could Emilie. It was simple, reasonable. So, what better way to get the Guardian’s attention than going rogue?” He paused to take a breath, “The peacock miraculous is hard to use maliciously, being a beacon of healing and truth. Besides, Duusu was my kwami, she helped me through so many tough times, I couldn’t in good conscience… corrupt her miraculous like that… I just couldn’t. So, I turned to the butterfly miraculous.” He looked to Nooroo, no change in expression but Nooroo could feel his fondness, the kwami smiled brightly in return, “Champions can be turned rather easily against their nature, and though they’re easily defeated, I just needed the Guardian’s attention,” he reasoned, “Just to find the bastard, strike up a deal. I thought I’d have to look past a Bee, or god forbid a fox, but no. He sent out the Ladybug and Cat miraculous! Against a butterfly! No offense, Nooroo.”

“None taken,” The timid kwami replied, though he was a little hurt by the statement, mostly on Emilie’s behalf.

“Moreover, he gave one to my son! He’d have to know that I’m the one making a fuss, and he gave a miraculous that would’ve torn me apart, to my son! He wanted my son to defeat me! He wanted to set us against each other! When I just wanted the Ladybug Kwami to heal my wife properly! Then we’d retire! The bastard never had to hear from us again, but no! He needed to make this so hard!”

Plagg turned Gabriel, fury radiating off of his tiny body, “You just wanted Tikki to finish healing your wife?” 

Gabriel stopped, regarding the kwami warily, “Yes, that is all I wanted. I’d even give her compensation, a truckload of food. Anything! I would do anything for my wife, and it was a simple solution!” He took a breath and began to pace again, disturbing the butterflies around him, “I didn’t even need the miraculous, just the kwami. He would have kept the miraculous in his possession, and I just borrowed the kwami. Sent her off with a truckload of food and the other miraculous, a sign of our retirement. It was so simple!”

“Reasonable,” Plagg agreed, his tail curling in irritation, “And the Guardian sent us out anyway. Against a butterfly… Did you do any damage to warrant this decision?”

“All I did,” Gabriel snapped towards the cat, though the bite in his words didn’t deter the feline, “Was use Dark Wings to send out a warning last night. Lure him out, freak out his kwami. Then I de-transformed and went to bed, then this morning I found my son gone and a miraculous in his place. I thought he’d hurried things along! Answered my silent plea! But no, instead I now have the Kwami of Destruction listening to my plight, with no way to help.”

“I have my ways,” Plagg replied.

Nooroo snickered, catching Kwami and Human gazes, “Wayzz.”

They looked on unimpressed, though Gabriel was secretly reveling in the pun.

Plagg turned back to the Gabriel and began a short explanation, “In the box, Wayzz came and told us what he knew, that the Butterfly Miraculous was being used for selfish gain… which is untrue, but still. Tikki is going to teach her bug how to null Nooroo’s power, how to summon Lucky Charm and Miraculous Ladybug. I would’ve taught the kitten how to do Cataclysm, but I’ve no real need for anything else, not with what this situation was.”

Gabriel nodded, and Nooroo’s eyes bugged out at this reveal of information and he curled in on himself, “I’d have to compete with Lucky Charm _ and _ Cataclysm?”

“Yep,” Plagg replied, “So with some veterans, this would’ve taken what? A month? With kittens… maybe a year and a half, at most. By then I would’ve been tearing through Paris to find you guys, it would’ve been ugly.”

Gabriel and Nooroo winced simultaneously, before nodding, “You wouldn’t have listened by then, nor would Adrien… or the Ladybug.”

“You would’ve been a deranged terrorist by then. Maybe, after your defeat, we’d have talked to Nooroo to get the rundown and motive, but it could’ve been entirely possible for the Guardian to take back the miraculous by then and rolled off.”

Gabriel felt queasy, and by extension so did Nooroo.

Plagg smiled, “Now you actually stand a chance, and once this is resolved you’ll take on the Guardian with your miraculous clan, and we’ll get a new _ competent _ guardian.”

Gabriel brightened tremendously, though Nooroo suspected Plagg didn’t notice. Which was expected.

“So,” The old designer began warily, “I’ll use your miraculous instead?”

“That you will,” Plagg agreed, “And you won’t tell your son anything because he’ll try to take you down, I’m sure.”

“Why’s that?” Nooroo asked curiously.

Plagg glowered at a flower nearby, causing the thing to wither beneath his gaze, “I’ve had miraculous offspring as Chosens before. They are strong, powerful little things with a lot of heart and a lot more sense for justice. If we are, potentially, fighting a child for her Kwami and/or miraculous, a boy with a big heart and a lot of justice, won’t be pleased with the ‘villain’ of the scenario. It would be ideal if he becomes upset with your alter ego, rather than… you know… his father.”

“Rather sensitive of you,” Nooroo noted smugly.

Plagg’s hackles raised, “Rather **sensible**,” He charged Nooroo and tackle him with a burst of speed, “Because we need him later to take down the Guardian, I just said this!”

Nooroo giggled, tickling Plagg with his wings.

Gabriel watched on, stewing in this new plan. Once the Kwamis calmed, he looked to Nooroo, “I’ll need to remove your miraculous if I ever want to transform…” He drawled out slowly, and when Nooroo looked to him in innocent confusion he continued, “If that’s the case, which it is, then I might as well remove your miraculous now and let you rest with Duusu.”

Nooroo’s mind clicked with the realisation, his eyes wide with surprise, before he settled with understanding, “Well, I had hoped to see this through, but if this is the case… I hope to see you again, when it is all said and done.”

Plagg patted his shoulder sympathetically, and although Gabriel did nothing to show it, Nooroo could feel his remorse. They had bonded after Emilie’s death, and consequential coma, and found themselves at an understanding of the other. 

“Can I say goodbye to her?” Nooroo asked softly, “Just… just until the next time we meet.”

The ‘_ if’ _ hung heavy in the air, but Gabriel nodded anyway, slipping on Plagg’s ring while he did so, which was now silver in the Kwami’s absence.

Nooroo rushed out of Plagg’s grasp, to Emilie’s container. He had fondly called it a cocoon when they’d first put her inside after an infectious disease had almost wiped out the coma patients in the hospital, and he and Gabriel alike would often refer to her awakening as the completed metamorphosis. 

The gentle Kwami let out a soft sigh, before phasing into the pod. He looked to his chosen, his poor sweet chosen. His chosen that had been so very curious at his appearance, who desperately wanted to run to the action, like a moth to a flame. 

“Hello, little moth,” He whispered, tears brimming his eyes, as this could be their last interaction ever, “I’m going to go rest soon, with Duusu. Hopefully, she doesn’t make too much of a ruckus, because I have every intention to sleep until you… return.” He hiccuped at the word, and noted no stirring with Emilie, not physically or emotionally.

“I’m going to miss you,” He whispered, “And… and I know I gave you a hard time about going into battle, little moth, and you know I was right!” He paused, “That doesn’t matter now. What matters is that we win, and I get to see you again, and we’ll take down a crazy turtle! Aren’t you excited, Emilie? We’ll get to fight the Guardian!”

Emilie made no reply. Nooroo felt his tears spilling over, some onto her shirt. It was ok, they would dry. He lowered into her clasped hands and curled up there. They were weak but warm, and Nooroo easily settled into them.

“I’ll ask again,” Nooroo whispered softly, “When we meet again.”

Gabriel and Plagg looked on, solemn expressions. Nooroo looked to the old wielder and nodded. He was ready.

Gabriel gave him a small, wobbly smile, and unclasped the broach.

The rest of the day consisted of Plagg and Gabriel trying to plan how to face the fine line between recruiting the Ladybug and not letting the Guardian get suspicious of them.

It was going to be a tough couple of months.


	2. Where the Cat met the Bug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A precious baby bug doesn't know what to do with her new father figure that seems to be... a villain??

A dark figure sat on a chimney, poised and proper. His gaze fixed on the horizon, his mind racing with thoughts.

He was dressed sharply, to say the least. He wore a button-up undershirt, with a peacock-blue bow-tie at his throat. Over the undershirt was a leather jacket, unbuttoned and pulled taut. The undershirt was separated from his slacks by a belt that connected easily to a tail which swished dramatically behind him (he was quite happy with this concept, having missed his tail as Papillon). His slacks were form-fitting and slid inside his boots, which were surprisingly tall against his calf. 

He felt comfortably androgynous, and only more so with the elaborate nature of his mask, decorated with stripes and swirls of peacock-blue. It was masquerade-esque in it’s make, and he was very fond of the design, perhaps he’d use the pattern on a dress in the future. His hair was mussed up, unrecognisable in form, and nearly obscuring his vision with its length. He idly noted he was in desperate need of a haircut because of this. Faux ears perked out of his hair, fluffy and black like his tail. 

He looked quite the sight. A pleasant mash of Victorian Gentleman, and rebellion. The aesthetic of a modern Frenchman going against the Guardian and, technically, the world.

No one would ever expect such a sight of Gabriel Agreste. (Well, except maybe that damn turtle).

God, if Duusu could see him now. She’d probably screech in betrayal, and demand it be more colourful, showy. Gabriel supposed that was her nature, as a peacock. It wasn’t too shabby an outfit though, just a bit shadier than he’d ever thought to wear before (in every sense of the word.).

He was technically a supervillain now, so he supposed his outfit should be a bit off-putting… it was reminiscent of a shoujo villain at least, but Gabriel didn’t know how he stood on that opinion. 

How had he come into possession of the god of Absolute Destruction, he honestly wasn’t certain. Well, yes he had technically stolen it from his son, but Adrien was never to know, and yes he had obtained the Kwami’s favour with his sob story, certainly. 

But how on Earth did he manage to possess one of the ultimate weapons this universe had to offer? It was strange enough being in possession of three of these insanely powerful beings, but one was of unbridled destruction and Gabriel was still to wrap his head around that. 

This kwami, this tiny floating cat, had almost destroyed the Earth entirely so many times he’s thrown it entirely off-kilter. He had obliterated the Dinosaurs, sunk Atlantis, and was cause to the bubonic plague, if anything was to go by Duusu’s stories. He was a being of immeasurable danger, and to top it all off, he slid into a magic ring that granted Gabriel superpowers.

It didn’t add up.

Gabriel was only dwelling on this in the back of his mind, however, as he had done during his first transformation with Duusu. All he needed was a bit of time to wrap his head around this properly. For the moment, he just had to wait for a young child of ladybug-theme.

Not a moment sooner, a red blur streaked across the sky, closely followed by a high-pitched screaming noise. The experienced wielder smiled, idly wondering if he had sounded so panic-stricken his first flight.

He jumped down after the red streak and found a girl dressed in a form-fitted red spandex suit. The string of her yo-yo (strange weapon) was securing her to a light post. She was struggling against its grip, but that was only tightening its grasp.

“Classic,” He noted, now beside her with an amused grin.

She looked up at him, and her eyes began to water as her lip trembled. Mauvais’ grin dropped and he frowned in concern.

“I’m hopeless,” She whined, looking to the adult in her presence, trying to stop her tears, “I’m supposed to fight a supervillain, and I can’t even win against this string! You’re not struggling at all, and-and-!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Gabriel replied, crouching a little to look her in the eyes, “It’s your first day out, everyone’s bad on the first day. That, I tell you from experience.”

“How do you mean?” She asked through a sniffle.

He smiled kindly, “This isn’t my first, how they say, Rodeo. What I mean to say is that I’m a seasoned veteran when it comes to this magic-superpower stuff, and even I was struggling with this stupid thing,” He said, tapping the baton that was his weapon on the ground to voice his own frustration, “You’ll get there, just need a little practice.”

She nodded, a little tear rolling down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away.

“Thank you, Monsieur.”

“Mauvais,” He corrected, “No need for formality. Not… not with the situation at hand.”

She smiled brightly at that, and held out her left hand, as it was free, “Well, it’s nice to meet you Mauvais, I’m… hmm…” She paused, looking over her arm, “Well, I suppose I’m Ladybug.”

“Very original,” He noted with an amused smirk as he shook her hand firmly before looking to her entrapment, “Alright, now let’s see this situation you’ve gotten yourself into. So, if I loosen up this bit here,” He poked his baton under the wire, and pulled it a little. Ladybug slipped out and the yo-yo dropped with a clang.

“Thank you, again!” She exclaimed brightly, collecting up her yo-yo.

“Oh, it was no trouble,” He replied, noting his odd behaviour mildly,  _ well _ , he thought  _ no one will ever recognise me _ .

She nodded and looked over the offending weapon, “Have you any idea how I use this? My kwami didn’t really explain…”

He nodded, and swapped weapons with her, “With that one, you press the button and it starts to ascend, you press it again it’ll stop. With this…” He tossed it off, and it automatically hooked onto a chimney, “Well, it hooks, and then you might pull and- **Whoa** !” He exclaimed, racing through the air. 

He quickly tugged the yo-yo off of the chimney before he hit the roof, and rolled with the momentum, barely stopping on the edge. He was breathing hard, eyes wide with fright. Peacock and Cat travel were a lot more gentle on the nerves it seemed.

Ladybug slowly rose up next to him, “I see,” She noted with an amused smile, before she frowned, “Wait, how’d you not get wrapped up in the chimney?”

“Yanked it off before it could.”

Her eyes widened in realisation, “Oh! That makes so much sense!” She dropped onto the roof and swapped weapons again. With her yo-yo in hand, a solemn expression crossed her face, “How am I supposed to do this? This whole… superhero thing. It’s very…”

“New?” He offered, “Tricky?”

“Terrifying.”

He flinched, and then nodded, “I know. I felt the same when I was first starting out... but don't you fret, little bug."

"Why's that?"

"I'm here to help," He replied with a smile, "And even if I wasn't, I'm sure you'd get the hang of it.”

“How?” She asked, “How do you know?”

“I can see it, behind all the fear, and the nerves,” He smiled, “That spark of determination. Every good hero has one, no matter how frightened, or pressured. If a hero has that spark, there’s no chance they can lose..”

She blinked up at him in surprise, before a small grateful smile crossed her lips, “Merci beaucoup, Mauvais.” The smile slowly dropped into a contemplative frown, “I’m not sure how that is supposed to help me summon some special item to save the day? Or purify a butterfly? Or fix all damage done?”

“Yeah,” He replied softly, “Sounds like a lot.”

“It is!” She whined, sitting down on the roof and curling in on herself, “What if I can’t do it?”

“Hey,” He dropped down next to her, “You’re a ladybug. The luckiest, and most adaptable, miraculous user out there. You’ll get it, with a little practice and a lot more determination.”

Her frown eased, and she smiled gratefully at him again, before looking out over the roofs, and suddenly it struck him… he was  _ mentoring _ this child. This child he had seen not fifteen minutes before, and could easily become his greatest enemy if that turtle ever got his hands on her. This child, who was no older than his son, he’d taken under his wing without a second thought.

Why this was so pressing, Gabriel wasn’t sure, but he could certainly feel pride swelling up in his chest. Duusu would approve certainly, and Emilie would no doubt be pleased with the practical adoption of a little red bug. 

Maybe being in the field again wasn’t so bad.

_ You do realise that she’ll leave soon enough, _ a voice told him,  _ There’s no danger anymore. Either she’ll uproot and seek out a real threat, or that blasted turtle will steal back her miraculous. You need her earrings, just take them. Get it over with. _

He sighed loudly, sadly.

Ladybug looked up, concerned, “What’s wrong?”

“There isn’t a threat,” He replied, “Not here. Not… Not anymore.”

“Did you already defeat the bad guy?” She asked, her eyes wide with admiration.

He looked away, “No, no I just…”

“You just? What?”

“I was the villain,” He snapped sharply, “I was the villain that your kwami was talking about.”

“What? How-? No.”

“Yes. Yes, I was trying… I was trying to get the Guardian’s attention, strike a deal. For your miraculous, or rather… the kwami,” He turned to look at her, but she was already gone. The whiz of her yo-yo reaching his drooping ears just now.


	3. Cheese, Pancakes, and Reforming Social Structures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some aftermath, lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe i've got 300 views!!! This is a really problematic concept that I probably shouldn't have taken on, to be honest, but I'm so glad you guys like it anyways!! :D 
> 
> Sorry it's been so long... I meant to update sooner, life just got in the road. You know how it is :P 
> 
> Enjoy~~

Gabriel sulked back to his home, slipping in through his open bedroom window and letting the transformation drop.

Plagg dropped out of the air, and was swiftly caught by his wielder, the soft and sad Peacock standing in the middle of his bedroom.

“Peacock’s are all the same!” The kwami exclaimed, floating up to float around Gabriel’s head, “Truth this, integrity that! You know there’s a saying against that, ‘ignorance is bliss’.”

“If  _ I _ didn’t tell her,” Gabriel replied, “The Guardian would have or she’d have figured it out, it’s pretty suspicious being superheroes with no real villain.”

“I suppose,” Plagg admitted, “But did you have to scare her off?”

Gabriel nodded, making his way towards the door, “There was probably a better way to explain,” Gabriel admitted, “But if I were in her shoes I wouldn’t want to put trust into someone who would inevitably betray me. I wouldn’t want to betray her like that.”

Plagg sighed, “You made this a longer run than it had to be, you know that?”

“I know.”

The kwami looked to his wielder apprehensively, before sighing, “Very well. The plan is not yet destroyed, perhaps we could get through this.”

Gabriel nodded to the kwami, respect radiating off of him in waves, “So, Kwami of Destruction, what is your recharge food of choice?”

“Cheese.” He replied sharply, “Camembert, specifically.”

“Wonderful,” Gabriel replied, though there was a dry tone to it. He’d obviously realised the issue with smell.

The old designer made his way out of the room, Plagg quickly hiding in his collar. As he turned to make his way down the stairs he spotted Adrien, clinging to the bannister desperately.

“Adrien?” He asked in confusion, “What happened?”

Adrien’s watery gaze snapped to his father, before he scrambled up to meet him. Gabriel was only mildly surprised by the desperate speed of his son as Adrien made his way up the stairs to meet Gabriel in a cobra-like hug. Gabriel gasped at the force of it

“I thought you disappeared!” Adrien wailed into his father’s shoulder, tears staining the cloth but Gabriel didn’t really care, “I thought, I thought you were gone just like her, and I was all alone and-and-!”

“Oh,” Gabriel whispered, holding his child tight, “Oh, no-no-no. Nothing of the sort. I promise I-I was fine.”

Adrien drew back then, his green eyes shimmering with unshed tears and his cheeks stained, “Where were you?” He yelled, though it lacked any hatred.

Gabriel still flinched, “I was… in the bath.”

Adrien drew in a breath, before his gaze lowered guiltily, “I thought I drove you away, cause I was mad… and I didn’t know what I was going to do, and you were gone so long!”

Gabriel drew his son back in, softly stroking his hair, “No. No... you could never drive me away. I promise. I’m sorry I startled you.”

Adrien nodded, whining as he clutched his father tightly. 

Gabriel stared into the distance, coming to a firm decision, “How would you like Pancakes for lunch?”

Adrien’s breath stopped in shock, but he slowly nodded against his father’s shirt anyway. Gabriel rearranged them to lead Adrien down the stairs, his arm wrapped around the shaking shoulders of his son. Eventually, the pair made it to the kitchen, passing a very confused looking Nathalie, but at a passing glance from her boss, she didn’t question it.

When they made it to the kitchen Gabriel led Adrien to sit at the one of the stools at the marble-topped island of their kitchen. Gabriel collected all of the ingredients he needed, laying them out on the island. Adrien watched, his face tear-stained.

Once this was done Gabriel held the edge of the island to anchor himself, “Have you a presentation on why you want to go to school, or is this just a matter of debate?”

Adrien perked up in surprise, “I… both? I have a presentation prepared, but it’s upstairs-”

“Go get it, I can listen and cook.”

With that the boy was gone, the top of his stool was spinning at the force Adrien left it. Gabriel smiled fondly.

He made his way over to the fridge and opened it. Inside was a cheese platter, that he was supposed to save for a meeting with Tsurguri, but he supposed the chef could always make another. 

“Here,” He offered, placing it on top of the fridge, “it’s not camembert, but…”

Plagg sped out of his collar and began to devour the platter. 

“But I suppose it will do,” Gabriel finished, turning on his heel and beginning to assemble the ingredients with a steady but untrained hand. Emilie always preferred cooking, especially on Pancake Day. After all, she had created the tradition.

“So,” Adrien began when he returned, “Let’s start with the evidence.”

Gabriel gave his son a restrained smile but nodded for the boy to continue. Adrien brightened tremendously and began with new vigour. 

“Scientifically it has been proven that children need to interact with children their own age, to lessen the risk of depression and anxiety due to premature maturity.”

“Mhm.”

“And socially it has been proven over and over that emotionally stunted humans have difficulty creating and maintaining relationships.”

“Right,” He noted, trying to restrain his bias and disgust with the schooling system. 

“There have been many studies proving this-”

He couldn’t hold it in, “They’re just trying to defend their sardine-like methods of teaching. Leaving children and teenagers in a confined space for long periods of time never ends well for them. Yet, they refuse to change because of lack of creativity,” Gabriel snapped, before catching himself, “Apologies, personal bias. Go on.”

Adrien winced and looked to the ground, this was going to be harder than he thought, “Ok! How about details about the school I want to attend?”

“That would be useful information, yes.”

Adrien smiled brightly, skipping past a few slides about general statistics that supported his claims. Gabriel didn’t miss them.

“So, College Francois-Dupont,” he began, “This school is known for its many many successful and diverse range of students.”

“Of which they shove the most famous and prosperous into one class,” Gabriel replied, “I am familiar.”

“Well,” Adrien said quickly, “That would ensure that I was in the same class as Chloe!”

Gabriel hummed in response, he wasn’t entirely fond of Miss Bourgeois. He couldn’t deny, he owed Audrey a lot, his whole career in fact, but that didn’t mean he had to adore her daughter. Hell, she didn’t even like her daughter all that much. Of course, somehow the princess-aspiring brat had somehow crawled into Adrien’s inner circle, and gained his compassion. Thus, a childhood friendship bound the Agrestes to the Bourgeois', much to Gabriel’s ire. 

“Of course,” Adrien began, nearly cursing his mistake, “I would be able to make lots of friends here, of every sort of background. Did you know that one such student is the daughter of a series of very successful bakers, going back to before Rome conquered France! The other side of her family is filled with very influential chefs throughout China!”

“Impressive,” Gabriel noted.

“Another is the daughter of the curator of the Louvre. Isn’t that amazing?”

Gabriel nodded with an intrigued smile, “Who else?”

“One boy is so athletically successful he’s thought to attend the Olympics next year! Another is a major genius, and if rumours are to be believed has built a robot which would revolutionise the robotics industry!”

Gabriel blinked in surprise, and began blending up the wet ingredients, having nearly forgotten he was supposed to be cooking, “Incredible.”

“That isn’t to mention Mylene.”

“Mylene?”

“You remember mum’s co-star in her silent film?”

“Of course,” Gabriel replied with a frown, “Always late and always making up excuses. Then his wife went into labour on the premiere, and they would’ve lost the baby and mother were it not for Emilie.”

“Yeah,” Adrien nodded, “well Mylene is actually that same baby!”

“Really?” Gabriel asked, looking up sharply and spraying the wet ingredients out a bit.

“Really,” Adrien nodded, wiping a bit off of his computer, “So, then there’s this infamous artist. Some believe he’s the online sensation, Strater.”

“Interesting.”

“Then there’s actually George’s son, Ivan.”

“Charming young man,” Gabriel agreed, “Though his music taste is misplaced.”

Adrien nodded, “Then the famous rowing champion and resident Pirate of Paris’ daughter, Juleka. Her mother was the guitarist for Jagged Stone, some time ago.”

Gabriel nodded, curious now as he sifted dry ingredients together in another mixing bowl.

“That’s not to mention the child of the Captain of the police, Roger Raincomprix, and the famous theatre director Sarah Raincomprix. She’s Chloe’s best friend at school.”

Gabriel nodded, pouring the wet ingredients into the dry, “Go on.”

“The last member of that class. She’s actually a descendant of Jean D’Arc. Her mum is the French ambassador in England, and her father is a professor in Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University, he is researching a cure for cancer! His daughter actually cut her hair off for the ponytail initiative, to donate. She raised nearly a hundred thousand dollars on her own!”

“Incredible,” Gabriel agreed, stirring the mixture, “Anything else?”

Adrien faltered, this was going to be  _ really _ tough, “Well, I don’t have anything on me right now, because I thought that would’ve convinced you, but-!”

Gabriel turned to begin pouring the mix into a pan, to start making the pancakes, “Very well, I’ll allow you to attend school for a week, as a trial. If there is even a hint of danger, however, you will be returning to homeschooling.”

Adrien’s jaw dropped, before he frowned, “When did you decide this?”

“Just now,” He lied. It was far too risky having Adrien at home when he was up to something as time-consuming as over-throwing the Guardian. The boy would surely figure out what was afoot. 

Adrien’s giddy smile returned with a vengeance, “Thank you, father.”

Plagg watched on from the fridge, amused at the two Agrestes. He was saddened by missing the opportunity to mess with the kid, that would’ve been a lot of fun. Of course, stirring such chaos and reforming their system in dispersing miraculous was a fair price to pay.


	4. Dismay and Discourse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 489 views?!?!?!?! guyss!??!??!? this is insane!! 
> 
> Also, I'm sorry it took a whole month for me to update. I had wanted to do it sooner, I just forgot completely lol.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Meanwhile, Marinette was screaming in her room. 

She had explained what she could to Tikki, before her nerves had taken over and her words became nothing but incoherent babble and whining. 

She had then pulled up the news, to show Tikki the event in question before returning to her babbled scolding of herself. 

The kwami was staring in absolute horror as a man, who she was certain the Guardian did _ not _ choose to help Marinette in her mission, chased Marinette around the city. From Marinette’s previous explanation, Tikki understood that he was trying to get her earrings.

She, of course, _didn't_ know that the man was trying to explain to the fearful teen the situation at hand.

Tikki practically inhaled the plate of cookies in front of her with her own nervousness. Plagg had either been given to the wrong person, which has happened before, or he had been stolen, also happened before. Tikki didn’t know which or what to do about either in general, but certainly, this was worrisome. 

Finally, she turned to her chosen and took a deep breath to put on a brave face, before facing the shivering bug.

“Marinette,” She said softly, hovering close, “Be sure to breathe.”

“He was so nice,” She whined, “And you said he was my ally! He was supposed to help me defeat the villain, but it just looks more and more like he **is **the villain! Hell, he admitted to being the villain!” She wailed, “He de-tangled me from a light post, and then chased me all over Paris! How am I supposed to get my homework done now, Tikki!” A sob racked through her body and she collapsed into her chaise.

“How do you know that he is a villain?” Tikki asked softly, “There could’ve been a misunderstand-”

“He wanted my earrings, he said so!”

Tikki winced and bit her lip, “Ok, some malicious intent I suppose… I just can’t understand how such a person got hold of the cat miraculous!”

Marinette began to cry again, “And I’m such a terrible hero, he’s going to win and destroy the universe-or-or just kill every puppy in existence! That’d be so bad, Tikki! And it would be all my fault because I’m **useless**!”

“Hey!” Tikki snipped sharply, catching Marinette’s attention, “You are not useless, not in the least, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You are strong and capable, and you even prevented an adult, in possession of my counter, from getting your earrings! That’s a big achievement!”

Marinette whined, “What if he tries again?”

“He’s not harming anyone,” Tikki pointed out, “If he comes out again just avoid him. Don’t transform. He’ll have nothing to chase.”

Marinette hummed warily, before perking up, “Yeah! I don’t have to face him!”

“Not until you’re ready,” Tikki agreed, “But someday you’ll have to face him. We need to get that miraculous back!”

  
  


The next morning Marinette scrambled to school. Anxious and jumpy, looking to the rooftops above her for a black blur. She may have been suspicious, had not every other Parisian citizen been looking to the rooftops too. Wary and aware of the possibility of a dark figure to appear.

She made her way inside, catching Alya on her way towards their class.

“Girl!” Alya exclaimed, “Did you see the news last night?”

“I did,” Marinette replied with a polite smile.

“Supers in Paris! Can you believe it? I’m still not sure which is the villain or the hero. My vote is for the black one. He was seen helping the red one, and then later seen chasing them all across Paris! Maybe the red one committed a heinous crime? Maybe the black one is a parental figure? So many possibilities!”

“Maybe the black cat is the villain, and he was chasing her down to steal her powers?” Marinette suggested.

Alya’s eyes bugged out, “Oh my god, you think he’s a cat?”

“Cat themed,” Marinette interjected, before regret rushed her, “I… I actually saw them pass by my window. He’s got a pretty cool outfit, and it was cat-themed, so I presumed…”

“That’s amazing!” Alya screeched, “Did you get a picture!”

“Uh, no… no, they were too quick. But I got a good look.”

They entered their classroom, and Marinette’s gaze drifted to a blond boy, kneeling next to her seat.

“Hey! What are you doing?” 

He turned in alarm, revealing a wad of gum on her seat, “Uh- I-”

Chloe and Sabrina began cackling, and Marinette looked between them and the boy before she nodded in a sad understanding.

“Ok, I get it. Good job you three, very funny.”

“No, no!” The boy exclaimed, “I was just trying to take this **off**!”

“Oh? Really?” She asked, placing a handkerchief over the gum, “You’re friends with Chloe, aren’t you?”

“Why do people keep saying that?”

“It figures,” Marinette replied, her expression still sad, but harsh and cold as well, she stared at him for a moment, before sitting down with a huff.

He turned and sat down too, confused and sad. 

“See what I mean about respect?” Chloe snarked. The boy only sighed in response, hoping this wouldn’t get back to his father. What would he even say to defend himself?

Marinette looked at the boy curiously, “Where have I seen him before?”

Alya gasped, and turned her phone to Marinette.

The fashion designer gasped in surprise, “He’s the son of my favourite fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste?!”

“Daddy’s boy, teen supermodel, and Chloe’s buddy? Ha! He’s totally just as spoiled rotten as she is.”

Adrien looked over, hearing every word, mildly offended. Nino sat beside him, with a concerned frown as Adrien simply looked away.

“Why don’t you tell them it was Chloe?” Nino asked.

Adrien sighed, “I’ve known Chloe since I was a little kid. I know she’s not perfect, but… I can’t throw her under the bus! She’s like my only friend…”

A sympathetic smile graced Nino face as he looked to the blond, “Well, I’m Nino, and it’s time for you to find some new friends, dude.”

Adrien smiled brightly, “I think so too.”

At that moment the teacher walked in, a welcoming smile on her face as she looked over her students, “Hello class!”

“Hello Madame Bustier,” The class responded, some voices more happy than others.

So, class began, with a dark figure watching silently from a rooftop opposite the classroom.


	5. Helicopter Parent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 683 views?!?!?!?!??! Guyyyss!!!!! This is amazing!! Thank you!!

Gabriel Agreste sat cross-legged beside a chimney that was obscuring him well in its shadow. He’d watched the kerfuffle Adrien had and smiled at the memory of a similar occurrence happening between him and Emilie all those years ago. Of course, he had been a lot more prideful than his son, and that argument had led to their despising of one another for nearly five years. 

He was glad, if a little confused by Adrien’s humility during the whole affair. He’d long since dropped his form as Mauvais, and Plagg sat beside him nibbling at a wheel of Camembert as Gabriel absently drew on his work pad.

Adrien’s first day at school was going decidedly well, and terribly simultaneously. He’d seemed to make an enemy of the dark-haired girl and her friend but had gained an ally through the whole debacle. At least, that was what Gabriel had accumulated from lipreading. He might have missed a few things but it seemed straight-forward enough.

He continued to watch, and draw, as Adrien quickly took the new spot as class nerd, which was Plagg’s assessment. Gabriel wasn’t certain his opinion on the matter, as he had been bullied routinely for being the school nerd, (let alone his tendency to design clothing).

Adrien, however, seemed to be doing well with this place in the classroom hierarchy, Gabriel could even see the relief in many students every time Adrien answered a question. It was strangely ethereal to Gabriel, watching his son having such fun in a setting he himself had dreaded every second of.

Of course, Gabriel didn’t just spy on his son. He also kept a lookout for old shifty men, excluding himself, watching the school. The guardian had just released the miraculous and he was sure to keep tabs on the children in possession of it. One such child supposedly being Adrien (that still made Gabriel sick to his stomach).

“Why are you drawing that?” Plagg asked through a mouthful of camembert, “What purpose does it serve?”

Gabriel looked down, “This is my lively-hood. Without these designs I’d be out of the fashion industry and-” He cut himself off, noticing Plagg disinterest, “And I’d not be able to afford your feeding habits.”

Plagg screeched in horror, shoveling cheese into his mouth, “Then draw man, draw!”

Gabriel snorted, and went back to his design. He quite liked being a dark mysterious figure stalking the rooftops of Paris, and it had sparked a lot of ideas in him to make a Shadowed Collection. In which he would design a great many dresses using a gothic, medieval-style with chic lines and shapes, replicating shadows in their trains and trails. 

Gabriel was interrupted by a startling bell, that made him scratch a line across his design in alarm. Plagg, in turn, fled into his camembert, nearly sending the whole platter to the ground, if not for the veteran Miraculous wielder’s quick reflexes.

“Lunch bell,” Gabriel assured the cat, who looked just as perturbed by the noise as Gabriel felt.

“What a terrible design flaw,” Plagg hissed, “I want to take it up with their manager!”

Gabriel cracked a small smile, “I’m not sure the principal will hear out the complaints of a magical flying cat-god.”

Plagg turned to Gabriel in offense, before looking away with a pout, “I miss the Egyptians. At least _ they _ appreciated me!”

“I’m sure they did,” Gabriel replied, as his gaze drifted down to see Adrien climbing into their silver limousine, “Oh no.”

“What?” 

“I forgot, I made Adrien promise to go home for lunch. Oh fuck, ok… I’ll need to transform and just… beat the car back!”

Plagg groaned, but didn’t make much other complaint as Mauvais formed around Gabriel, and he quickly began leaping across the rooftops. Halfway home, a red blur slammed into his side, he shrieked in alarm and quickly skidded to a halt.

“Well, villain!” Ladybug exclaimed, having skidded to a stop two meters in front of him, “I-I’m going to beat you and restore the balance!”

“Can you not?” Mauvais asked, “I need to get home before my son.”

She paused in surprise, “You have a son?”

He stood up, out of defensive position, to nod.

“Oh, I,” She paused, “Does he know you’re a supervillain?”

Mauvais scoffed, “My son didn’t even know when I was a hero, of course, he has no idea I’m… I’m a supervillain…” He felt sick again.

She looked down guiltily, “Did… did you know that people think you’re the hero? That I committed some crime or something?”

He looked back in surprise, “Why would anyone think that?”

“Because yesterday I was running away from you,” She replied, “And no one could really see the situation in its entirety.”

“That’s just wrong,” He snapped, “Don’t listen to them. You’re abiding by the rules, don’t worry. Ok? I’m going against the code, I’m misusing. They have no idea what they’re talking about.”

She blinked in surprise before smiling brightly, “Thanks Mauvais. Uh, you should probably head off, before your son gets home.”

He returned the gesture gratefully, “Much appreciated, and just for the record, there’s no way you were going to defeat me. Not without any sort of training.”

She giggled, “Yeah, I know.”

With that, he was gone. Dashing desperately across the rooves. He left an inspired, kind of confused, bug in his wake.


	6. Teenage Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Freaking 799 hits!!! Y'all!!! <3 Thank you :)
> 
> This chapter is pretty much just a bridge between the previous one and the next one, so it's not very filling tbh.

Mauvais slipped in through the butterfly window he’d left open. He quickly clicked the remote to close it and ran out and into the tunnel. Using his baton and specific leaps, he made it to the elevator. Quickly, he dropped the transformation and began to adjust his clothing, until he didn’t look nearly as suspicious. 

As he rose out of the ground, he looked around the room for pairs of legs. With none waiting for him, he stood tall and regal, looking at Emilie’s painting as he tried to calm his breathing. 

Everything felt like it was going too slowly and too quickly simultaneously, and in far too much detail. He could hear the door being opened by Nathalie, and Adrien’s surprisingly soft footsteps making their way inside. Once he’d calmed himself, and the adrenaline had passed, Gabriel turned to see Adrien waiting to be addressed, a sad expression on his face.

“Take a seat Adrien,” Gabriel spoke, his tone softer than he might’ve used if he didn’t see how down his son seemed. 

It didn’t seem to perk his son up as Gabriel expected, he took his seat at the head of the table and watched as his son made his way to the other end.

“Why don’t you sit up here,” Gabriel offered, “Since… since we’re not bickering about your schooling situation anymore?”

Adrien looked up in surprise, as though it had never occurred to him. He nodded, a soft smile gracing his features. Gabriel returned it to a much lesser degree and examined his ruined design since the bell had startled him. He’d have to redraw half of it, but quickly he wasn’t interested in it at all. He flipped the tablet over and turned as Adrien sat to his right.

“So, how was hell -I mean, school?”

Adrien looked down, his sad expression returning, “It was fine.”

“I see,” Gabriel remarked as they were presented with lunch.

They sat in a silence that seemed to hang heavy in the air. Even Plagg was uncomfortable in it if his squirming within Gabriel’s jacket was anything to go by. Eventually, the meal was completed, and Gabriel was feeling increasingly nauseous at Adrien’s silence. Finally, the boy cracked.

“It was awful, father!” 

“It was?” Gabriel replied, caught by surprise, _it seemed to go well enough-_

“Yes,” He whined, resting his head on the table, “I made a girl in my class really mad at me and I don’t know how to fix it!”

Gabriel tried desperately to contain his amusement, though a sneaky smile refused to leave his features, “I don’t want to say I told you so-” Adrien’s pitiful glare, wobbling bottom lip included, cut him off, “And it’s not the time. Very well, how did you anger this girl?”

Adrien slowly rose, looking down in a guilty manner, “I was trying to get a wad of gum off of her seat.”

Gabriel frowned, “Why would that make her angry?”

“Because she thought I put it there,” Adrien replied.

Gabriel frowned at Adrien’s demeanor. If he hadn’t seen the event live, he would have definitely thought Adrien had put the gum on her seat, thus: “Did you?”

Adrien’s gaze shot up, confused and hurt, “No! No, of course not! Chlo-” His gaze dropped again, now it seemed he was cursing himself for throwing her under the bus.

“Oh,” Gabriel sighed, “So, Miss Bourgeois did it and framed you?”

“Frame is a strong-”

“Did she admit to the crime when you were caught?”

Adrien looked increasingly guilty, “No.”

“Then she might as well have framed you.” 

Adrien only flinched in response.

Gabriel sighed, “Alright, so the solution seems simple.”

Adrien’s gaze drifted up, looking hopeful but broken.

“You’ll simply need to tell her the truth.”

“She’ll never believe me!” Adrien exclaimed.

Gabriel hummed in consideration, “Well, all you can do is tell her the truth. If she doesn’t believe you, it’s her loss.”

Adrien drooped back down, leaning onto the table, “She’s going to hate me forever.”

“No one hates anyone forever,” Gabriel reasoned, “People change and grow and adapt. There’s not a chance this girl will hold it against you forever. Just maybe… an extended amount of time.”

“How do you know?”

“Because your mother didn’t hate me forever.”

Adrien shot up like a bullet, his cheeks red and his eyes wide with curiosity, “What do you mean?”

He sighed, “When your mother and I first met, we had a similar falling out, a misunderstanding. We were both too prideful to admit either of us were wrong,” Gabriel looked away with a nostalgic smile, “Then we had to work together on a… group project. We saw a new side to one another, and grew closer… So, Adrien, this girl has seen a side of you that is simply false. You need to tell her the truth, and show her who you really are.”

Adrien looked away, stewing in this new information. He’d never known his parents didn’t get along at any point in time. They always seemed so in sync, 

He smiled, determination staining his features, “Ok. I’ll do it!”

Gabriel nodded, watching as Adrien raced towards the door. He stopped in the doorway and turned back to his father, “Uh, sorry father, may I leave the table?”

“Yes, of course.” Gabriel nodded, smiling in amusement as Adrien rushed out again. 

He piled their plates on top of one another as Nathalie walked in, “Sir, are you going to get back in a ‘groove’?”

He thought a moment, consulting his ruined design. He wasn’t particularly in the mood, and honestly… he felt there was another issue he had to resolve. Mauvais would be much more useful against that problem, however… thus:

“Yes, I will. Please lock the door. I don’t want to be disturbed by anything.”

Nathalie nodded. Gabriel waited for her to lock the door before scrambling back to the tile that would lower, sliding a finger quickly across the bottom of the picture frame of Emilie. The adrenaline was returning with a vengeance.

“What’s the plan?” Plagg asked, floating up to address Gabriel, “Go spy on your kid some more?”

“No, he’s quite capable of sorting out this mess, I’m sure.”

“So?”

“So,” He continued, “I’m going to help Ladybug.”

“I see,” Plagg replied with a smirk as they lowered into the tunnel, “So you’ve taken this child under your wing, pun intended?”

The peacock in cat’s fur smirked with a nod, “Yes, and I have a fool-proof plan.”

It was later proven to be constructed by, none other than, a fool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all. So I actually have the chapter after this written out too, just not the one following THAT, so if y'all want the next one immediately please tell me, and I can make that happen, but there'll be a longer wait for the one after that.
> 
> So to the 70 of y'all who are following along with this story, what would you prefer?


	7. Adult Solutions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got bored. Thus, putting up this little chapter. The next is going to take a While tho, sorry in advance

Mauvais flipped across rooftops, spotting crimes left, right and center. He smiled and began to wrangle them up.

Petty thief? Tossed into the back of a moving police vehicle. 

Old woman crossing a busy road? Now she’s across.

Cat stuck in a tree? Absolutely not. 

Within an hour or two the people of Paris were not fearing the black blur so much, but were rather excited by Mauvais, the cat-themed superhero who was solving minor and major inconveniences alike.

Eventually, Nadja Chamack was covering the story of the mysterious and strange superhero clad in black, seemingly a hero. Which was to put into question the morality of the red blur seen being chased by him. Of course, this was until one black-clad super dropped out of the supports above them.

Nadja couldn’t help but shriek in alarm, flinging herself out of the frame. 

Mauvais smiled, taking her seat. 

“Hello, Paris! Mauvais here. Now, let’s get something clear. No one, and I mean no one, is to criticize the bug before she’s faced off with me.”

Nadja stood up, brushing off her suit, “Why is that?”

“She’s just getting her bearings,” Mauvais replied, “She’ll get the hang of this eventually. Then she’ll defeat me, blah blah blah. We all know the story.”

“I’m sorry?”

Mauvais gasped, “Oh, wait, did you think I was the good guy? No, no no no. I am the one going against the code. In our world, I’d be called a misuser. In yours, a villain.”

A cameraman gasped in horror and confusion, “But you saved that cat! And-”

“I’m just doing what needs to be done,” Mauvais replied, lounging back in the news chair as any eccentric supervillain would, “While the Kiddo is getting her learn on I’m not going to let Paris fall to bits. It’s not fair to her, she’s just a kid. She can’t have a city-hell, the world on her shoulders! She’s got schoolwork. Don’t insensitive.”

Nadja stood gobsmacked, her jaw dropped, “So… so you are a good guy?”

“Now I never said that.” He snarked, “I specifically said I’m  **not** . She’s is the hero you so crave. Give  **her** your goddamn trust. I don’t need it, I don’t want it. All I’m here for is to give the kid a hand, and to try and steal her magic powers. That’s doesn’t make me a good guy. I’m offended you would suggest such a thing!” Though his amused smirk seemed to say otherwise.

Nadja nodded slowly, as Mauvais’ left ear twitched. His gaze snapped to a producer who was on the phone, and he whispered something under his breath. His hand began to glow with dark primal energy.

“A word of warning. If any reporter tries to approach little red, and not the other way around… well, let’s say there’ll be consequences.” He slammed his hand onto the table, and it disintegrated into dust. 

Then he lept out, and up to the window he’d entered. The camera followed. When he looked back, he could see the camera still on him, “Don’t snort tables, kids!” he exclaimed, and dropped out of the window. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... so... i decided that if Emilie was going to be where Adrien learned all his kind and forgiving qualities, the Extraness of Chat Noir had to come from somewhere. 
> 
> I realise this is Well Off Base from Canon Gabriel, but tbh I prefer it that way. (Though a point could be made that as Hawkmoth Gabriel makes So Many Puns, so really I'm not too far off.)
> 
> But yeah, Paris definitely doesn't get it At All.


End file.
